Key takeaways:
- Minnesota has sued the Trump administration’s DOJ and DHS for obstructing investigations into three shootings involving federal officers during Operation Metro Surge, alleging withheld evidence and blocked access to critical information.
- The lawsuit claims violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and the 10th Amendment, with specific accusations including the FBI’s refusal to examine evidence and denial of state access to key materials and identities of federal agents.
- Separately, the DOJ has requested classified records related to former CIA Director John Brennan amid a grand jury investigation into his role in the 2016 Russia interference assessment, drawing criticism from Brennan’s legal team and political figures.
The state of Minnesota has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging obstruction in the investigation of three shootings involving federal officers. The incidents, which occurred during Operation Metro Surge, resulted in the deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the shooting of Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, along with Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans, are plaintiffs in the suit. The defendants include the DOJ, DHS, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the DHS secretary.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., claims that the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the 10th Amendment by withholding evidence and blocking state investigators from accessing critical information. Among the allegations, the FBI is accused of keeping Good’s car “shrink-wrapped” in a storage facility without examination, and refusing to share evidence except with the DOJ inspector general. Similarly, state officials have been denied access to Pretti’s cellphone, the identities of masked federal agents involved, and the firearm recovered from Pretti. In the case of Sosa-Celis, federal authorities have withheld names and statements of involved officials, the gun used, and the federal vehicle involved. Ellison stated that decisions to cease cooperation were made at the highest DOJ levels, with DHS largely deferring to the DOJ.
In a separate development, the Justice Department has requested classified records from the House Intelligence Committee related to former CIA Director John Brennan. The committee voted to send several classified hearing transcripts to the DOJ at its request, concerning an ongoing investigation tied to a 2017 GOP report on alleged Trump-Russia collusion. Brennan, who led the CIA from 2013 to 2017 and is a paid NBC News contributor, has been identified as a target of a grand jury investigation by prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida. The investigation reportedly centers on Brennan’s role in the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Brennan’s legal team has criticized the investigation as lacking a legally justifiable basis, while Republican Representative Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee and a Trump ally, has accused Brennan of providing false testimony in 2023 related to the Russia probe. Brennan’s attorneys have denied these allegations. The grand jury’s skepticism of politically charged cases during the Trump administration’s second term was highlighted by the rejection of an indictment attempt against six members of Congress over a social media video urging military personnel not to follow illegal orders. The DOJ’s request for Brennan-related records signals a continued pursuit of potential criminal charges amid ongoing political and legal tensions.
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